Learning About Cat Care And Training Learning About Cat Care And Training

If you are going on a trip, you might be wondering whether you should take your pet along or seek the services of a boarding facility. You have even more to consider if your dog is older, suffers from anxiety, or is a puppy. Here are some tips to help you decide.

Elderly Dogs

As your dog ages, your care routine will change. Your senior pet will need more regular veterinary checkups, diet and exercise adjustments, and lifestyle alterations. Senility can affect your pet's mind; arthritis and musculoskeletal degradation can interfere with your pet's mobility, and a weakening immune system can put your senior at an increased risk of illness.

Like people, dogs age differently. Assess your pet's overall health and happiness when deciding whether or not to board.

When to bring: If your senior dog is in overall good health, you should have no problem bringing your pet with you. Make sure you bring any medications and prepare for additional rest stops, as your senior pet may need to urinate more frequently. Always keep your dog on a leash; in a strange environment, your senior pet may have a hard time returning to you after exploring.

When to board: If your dog has a hard time walking or suffers from incontinence, your pet may be more comfortable at a boarding facility. Long car trips can exhaust an elderly dog. If your pet is suffering from a severe medical condition, board your dog; in an emergency, the staff can take your dog to the same veterinarian who is managing your dog's health problems.

Anxious Dogs

Veterinarians recognize a variety of canine anxiety disorders. For example, if your dog suffers from separation anxiety, one of the most common forms of canine anxiety, your pet has a problem coping when you are not around. Your dog might resort to disruptive behaviors, like chewing, urinating, barking, and digging. If your dog has a phobia, certain people, places, or things will "trigger" your pet's anxiety, resulting in panicky behaviors.

Canine anxiety disorders are usually treatable, but helping your dog conquer these fears will not happen overnight. If you need to go out of town and your dog is still suffering from anxiety, the decision to board your pet or bring your pet is a serious one.

When to bring: If your dog suffers from separation anxiety, bringing your pet with you might be the best option. If your dog spends several days in a boarding facility and away from you, the experience can be traumatic and might reverse your treatment progress. Bring a crate so that, if you have to leave your dog alone in a hotel, you minimize potential destruction.

When to board: If your dog is prone to anxious barking, consider boarding instead. Many hotels will not tolerate loud, unruly dogs. Furthermore, anxious dogs often resort to flight when exposed to triggers. In an unfamiliar environment, your scared dog may be lost forever.

Puppies

Between the ages of three weeks and 12 weeks, your puppy is most impressionable. This is the best time to socialize your pet. Socialization is the process of exposing your puppy to new experiences in a positive way, resulting in a confident, well-adjusted adult dog.

Unfortunately, bad experiences during these formative weeks can have a lasting effect on your dog. You cannot shelter your dog in an effort to prevent your puppy from having bad experiences, though, because then all new experiences will be scary. An out-of-town trip with you is a great opportunity to socialize your puppy, but you also run the risk of exposing your pet to scary situations, too.

When to bring: If you will be able to give your puppy enough attention and care during your trip, your trip can be a valuable socialization experience. If your puppy is housebroken, you have one more reason to take you pet along without worrying about accidents in your car or hotel. Boarding facilities have vaccination requirements; if your pup has not received complete puppy boosters, your pup might have to join you. Just keep your pet away from strange dogs and other potential sources of disease.

When to board: Boarding facilities are also great socialization opportunities. Your pet will interact with many different dogs and people, and you will not need to worry about leaving your puppy isolated and alone in a hotel room.

Talk to experts like All Creatures Inn for more information.